Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 270 Death of Jin Shenghuan

Thick dark clouds floated over the sky of Jinling City with the east wind. Jin Shenghuan's mood was just like the gloomy sky, so gloomy, helpless and hateful.

When the surrendered general of the Jin army and Jin Shenghuan arrived in Jinling at the same time, the treatment of the two sides was like heaven and hell. Jin Shenghuan was imprisoned in the prison of Qingluanwei, eating cold rice and living with fleas and bedbugs.

Wang Deren, Hu Zhan, Zhang Yingwei and others were warmly received by Meng Jun and were welcomed and entertained. All the generals in Jinling City were present.

At the banquet, all the surrendered Jin army generals were extremely awed and expressed their willingness to serve the king loyally and never rebel. They said they would follow the king to recover the Northern Capital and the Central Plains, etc. The scene was filled with a harmonious atmosphere.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Meng Jun said to Wang, Zhang and Hu: "In the past, although Jin Shenghuan recruited civilians to serve as soldiers and filled the army with more than 300,000 soldiers, haven't you heard that the quality of soldiers is more important than the quantity?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Seeing this, Meng Jun continued, "Now that Jin Shenghuan has surrendered and Gan has been pacified, I have ordered Lin Tongzhen to select the best soldiers from the surrendered army and discard the old and weak. You can recruit the elite soldiers of the two towns. The three generals are very righteous and have saved Gan from war. You should be rewarded generously. However, in addition to the generous rewards, I have two choices for the three generals to make."

For a moment, the scene was completely silent. Wang Deren, Hu Zhan, and Zhang Yingwei were all very nervous. They only heard Meng Jun's words again: "First, continue to lead the troops. The three generals can be the main commanders of the new army in the two towns. Second, military life is very hard. You can become an official, whether it is to any place or to be an official in Nanjing."

The three of them looked at each other inconspicuously, and then Wang Deren said tentatively: "Your Majesty, we surrendered and it is up to Your Majesty to decide. However, I have been leading troops in battles for half my life. If you ask me to do something else, I don't think I can do it."

Meng Jun nodded, not making any comment. He knew the mindset of a warrior very well. It was just that simple. Seeing that Meng Jun was not angry, Zhang Yingwei also spoke up, "Your Majesty, the world is not yet pacified, and this is the time to use warriors. How can I not want to serve you on the battlefield? How can I sit in this glamorous city of Jinling?"

When Meng Jun cast his eyes towards Hu Zhan, he just lowered his head and said nothing. After a while, as if he had made up his mind, he raised his head and said to Meng Jun respectfully: "Your Majesty, although I am not talented, I would like to follow your side and check for deficiencies and fill in the gaps. Is that okay?"

Meng Jun was stunned. Why didn't this man play by the rules? After hesitating for a while, Meng Jun nodded and said, "Of course, I can appoint the general as my counselor."

…………

When Hu Zhan stepped into the streets of Jinling City again, he seemed to be overwhelmed by an overwhelming and surging atmosphere of enthusiasm. Hu Zhan had never seen such a high level of public sentiment and will. There were many big-character posters posted on the streets, reading "The rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of every man. Drive out the Tartars and recover the country!"

There were lecturers from the Propaganda Department, opera troupes, and crowds of people gathered in the streets and alleys, with a newspaper in their hands. Hu Zhan stopped to watch a drama for a while, which was also about Yue Fei's battle at Zhuxian Town.

Hu Zhan's thoughts couldn't help but fly to yesterday's welcoming banquet. Now that Meng Jun is the king, he is still courteous to his surrendered generals. This makes Hu Zhan feel grateful. Such an extraordinary master is worthy of his lifelong service.

Hu Zhan sneered at the choices made by Wang Deren and Zhang Yingwei. He said that these two were short-sighted and only knew how to seize military power, but they didn't know that the one who is close to the water gets the moon first. No official position was better than following the king and participating in military and political affairs.

Although he only held the position of a counselor, seemingly unable to control anything and without any power, on the contrary, as the saying goes, he was a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister, not to mention that he was dependent on the king. How could he be compared with a small military man? The more Hu Zhan thought about it, the more he felt that his choice was correct.

Little did they know that Wang and Zhang were also sneering at Hu Zhan for being confused. In troubled times, military power is paramount, and with an army, who would dare not look up to them?

Zhang Yingwei shook his head and said to Wang Deren, "What is this Old Hu thinking? Although the king has only given us three or two towns, if it really doesn't work out, Old Hu can be my deputy. Why is he so depressed?"

"Alas, who says it's not true? After all, we are brothers who have shared life and death together. Even if you don't want to lead troops and suffer the punishment of wind and rain, you can also become an official in the shogunate. Why do you have to get close to the king and be an advisor? Yes, the chances are great when you are close to the king, but there is also a saying, 'To serve the king is like serving a tiger!'" Wang Deren also said leisurely.

"It's too late to say anything now. In public, under the king's nose, Lao Hu said it solemnly. It's useless. I can't take it back. It can't be changed!"

As for Jin Shenghuan, Meng Jun originally wanted to meet him in person, but changed his mind before leaving. Why bother meeting a loser again? As for how to deal with him, Meng Jun rejected Yang En's suggestion to sentence Jin Shenghuan to death, and instead ordered Meng Bian to make him disappear.

At night, Meng Bian covered his nose, walked into the Qingluan Guard's prison and spat. The air was really uncomfortable. It was not that Jin Shenghuan was deliberately abused, but he ate, drank, defecated and urinated in the prison. In addition, he came all the way from Nanchang to Jinling, and the smell was really uncomfortable.

Meng Bian looked at Jin Shenghuan and saw that he looked depressed. He sneered and said, "Jin Shenghuan, do you have anything to say now?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Shenghuan looked up at Meng Bian, his eyes slightly brightened, and thought to himself: "Don't I have to die? Meng Jun will spare me. Yes, I didn't cause much trouble to Meng Jun, and I indirectly gave Jiangxi to him."

Thinking of this, Jin Shenghuan said hurriedly: "I was ignorant of fate and offended the king. Now I have repented and will change my ways. I only hope that the king will spare my life. In the future, I will serve the king at all times and will not hesitate to die!"

Hearing this, Meng Bian's eyes turned and he said with a smile: "Okay, write a confession first and I will present it to the king for you."

Jin Shenghuan nodded like a chick pecking at rice. Meng Bian then ordered someone to bring paper and pen for Jin Shenghuan to write. At this time, Jin Shenghuan said a little embarrassedly: "My lord, can you please send some water so that I can wash my hands to avoid dirtying the king's eyes."

Meng Bian was a little surprised. He didn't expect Jin Shenghuan to be so thoughtful. However, it would be okay to satisfy him for such a small matter. He would wait until everything was ready.

Jin Shenghuan was seen lying on the ground with his butt sticking up, writing carefully. Meng Bian couldn't stay here as it was too smelly, so he ordered people to keep a close eye on him. Then he ran outside to get some fresh air. About half an hour later, a bodyguard came with Jin Shenghuan's confession letter and handed it to Meng Bian.

Meng Bian was delighted when he saw the letter, which was full of flattery. Then, he put away the letter and said to his guards, "Send him on his way!"

This letter has Jin Shenghuan's handwriting, and you can imitate it however you want.

The next morning, Meng Bian came to Meng Jun and whispered, "Young Master, Jin Shenghuan hanged himself last night. This is the confession letter he left behind." After that, he handed the letter to Meng Jun.

Meng Jun turned his head when he heard this. He did not take the letter, but stared at Meng Bian's face for a long time. Meng Bian felt uncomfortable being stared at by his own young master, so he lowered his head and asked, "Young Master, is there anything wrong?"

Meng Jun sighed and said earnestly, "Bi'an, Jin Shenghuan is dead, he was erratic, tyrannical and harmful to the people. As for his confession, it is useless. If the world knows about it, they will only say that we are pretending to be righteous even when we kill people."

After saying this, he stood up and said in a deep voice to the gloomy sky outside the window: "To the outside world, just say that Jin Shenghuan committed suicide, wrap him in a straw mat, and bury him in the wasteland. As for the letter, let it be buried with him."